The Third-Largest Church In Europe

Only St. Peter's at the Vatican in Rome and St. Paul's in London is larger than the Sevilla Cathedral in Europe.  It's also the largest Gothic church anywhere.

In 1400 there was a mosque of brick on this site, and in 1401 it was torn down by the Reconquista Christians.  When it was finished in 1528., it was the world's biggest for 98 years until St. Peter's surpassed it.

Because of the stunning Patio de los Naranjos, it does take the largest area of any church in the world.

Rick Steves puts it kindly, saying the cathedral "has an odd exterior that is hard to fully appreciate."  The church is square because the mosque was square.  There's also no dominant plaza leading to the church, so you really don't know where's the front door, and it is hard to find, unless you stumble upon it.  

The church is surrounded by pillars and chains, because back in the day, if you could get inside those chains, you were given sanctuary from arrest for secular arrest (but not Christian law).

You enter through the Patio de la Naranjos (Orange Trees), which remains from the original mosques.  

Once in the Cathedral, it is massive.  The church is 137 yards long (about the average passing yards by Daniel Jones in a Giants game) and 90 yards long (about the number of yards lost by Jones because of sacks in a game, primarily because the Giants o-line has been terrible).  

The column inside are massive and give the confidence that this church will never crumble.  Like many Spanish churches, a feature I don't like is the nave is clogged up by the choir.  The choir features a 7,000 pipe organ and a spinning book holder that can show off massive hymnals so that all in the choir could chant back when, as the Beach Boys sang in one of their more obscure songs, "Gregorian Chants were a real big thing."

The Tomb of Columbus is a wonder to behold (as tombs go).  The pallbearer sculptures represent Castile, Aragon, Leon, and Navarre.  There was some doubt those are actually the remains of Columbus, but a DNA test in 2006 matched the bones of his son.  Right near the tomb is a 1584 mural of St. Christopher, the patron saint of travelers, and the 1788 clock that still works.

The High Altar is the largest altarpiece in the world.  It's a stunning 80 high wall of wooden carvings covered with gold leaf, and took 83 years to carve and gild.  

Our last stop in the Cathedral was to climb the Giralda, which starts with a foundation of Roman placed blocks, a large brick middle section built by the Moors (bricks and arched windows), and the top Renaissance Christian tower, which fell in 1356 and was rebuilt taller than in 1550s.  

The tower rises 330 feet up to the top area for people to go up the 35 ramps and 17 steps.  

We didn't take pictures from the top part of the tower, mostly because I didn't feel like dealing with the chicken wire, protecting people above from falling and people below from having things accidentally dropped on their heads.

Rick Steves rates both the Cathedral and the Royal Alcazar as two stars (on his one-to-three scale), but I think the Royal Alcazar is a three star.  But again, you need enough time in Seville to go to both.